Xavier Hendricks, CEO at NGRAVE, shares his journey from crypto enthusiast to security specialist, shaped by multiple devastating hacks including Mt. Gox and the Swarm City smart contract breach that lost 44,000 ETH.
• Security comes through simplicity, not complexity—removing technology reduces vulnerability points
• NGRAVE's hardware wallet keeps private keys completely offline through air-gapping and QR code communication
• Intuitive design focuses on three critical operations: key creation, transaction signing, and key backup
• Unique metal backup solution uses two plates with punched holes, creating a fire-resistant split key backup
• Trust is easily lost in the security space—no recovery after major breaches like Ledger's customer database hack
• The blockchain space must balance freedom with security, acknowledging that freedom comes with risks
• Future developments include adding staking and swap services while maintaining complete security
• Target audience is evolving from crypto natives to mainstream investors seeking secure blockchain access
Visit NGRAVE's Twitter or Discord to learn more about their secure, certified hardware wallet solutions.
The Evolution of Crypto Security: Lessons from the Trenches
In the rapidly evolving world of cryptocurrency, security remains one of the most critical yet misunderstood aspects of blockchain adoption. Xavier Hendricks, CEO of NGRAVE, recently shared his journey from early crypto enthusiast to security advocate, providing valuable insights into how personal experiences with hacks shaped his approach to wallet security.
Xavier's story begins like many early crypto adopters – drawn to blockchain technology not for security reasons, but for the freedom it represented. "For me, initially, it was a feeling of freedom," he explains. "Before Bitcoin, even if you wanted to work with money online, it was a very difficult situation." The appeal was the sandbox environment where creativity could flourish, where financial systems could be reimagined without traditional constraints. This initial excitement about blockchain's potential led Xavier to work on Swarm City, an ambitious project aiming to create decentralized marketplaces similar to Uber or Airbnb but without centralized control.
However, Xavier's journey was repeatedly interrupted by devastating hacks. First, he lost bitcoins in the infamous Mt. Gox breach. Later, while working with Swarm City, he witnessed a catastrophic hack where 44,000 Ethereum disappeared from a multi-signature smart contract that had been holding funds from their ICO. These experiences fundamentally altered his perspective: "Every single time the hacks prevent me from doing this. And before we start thinking about the ultimate potential of what crypto and blockchain brings to the world, maybe we should take a step back and fix first what are the foundational weaknesses."
This realization led Xavier to focus intensely on security, specifically approaching it from a counterintuitive angle: simplification rather than complexity. "If you want to do security well," he explains, "you actually want to remove technology as much as possible, because anything that's complicated, anything that's technical, is a weakness." This philosophy underpins NGRAVE's approach to hardware wallets – creating solutions where security isn't about adding layers of technical complexity but rather about designing intuitive systems that users can understand and trust inherently.
The cornerstone of NGRAVE's security model is air-gapping – ensuring the private key never touches the internet. While this concept isn't new, NGRAVE's implementation focuses on making the process user-friendly through QR code scanning for transaction signing. The wallet creates and stores keys offline, and transactions are signed without the device ever connecting to the internet, providing an intuitive security model that users can visually verify.
Perhaps most innovative is NGRAVE's unique backup solution – a two-plate metal system where one plate has random hexadecimal numbers next to holes, and users punch marks into a second plate. The result is a split key backup that's resistant to fire, water, and other physical threats, without having the full key visible on any single component. This physical security matches the digital protection, creating a comprehensive approach to crypto security.
Xavier Hendrickx, CEO NGRAVE
What makes Xavier's perspective particularly valuable is his understanding that security isn't just a technical problem – it's a psychological one. The crypto industry is asking people to take full responsibility for their assets, which is a significant shift from traditional financial systems where banks and institutions shoulder that burden. "It's like telling them, 'take all your savings in cash and leave it in your living room.' People don't feel comfortable doing that," Xavier notes. The solution isn't more complex technology but rather creating systems simple enough that users can understand and trust them intuitively.
As cryptocurrency adoption expands beyond technical enthusiasts to include traditional investors, this approach to security becomes even more crucial. The next wave of crypto users won't be willing to navigate complex security protocols – they need solutions that feel as secure and straightforward as the banking systems they're accustomed to, while still preserving the freedom and self-sovereignty that makes blockchain revolutionary.
PS: Check out the LinkedIn Live panel with Xavier >>
